KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian authorities struggled for the third day in a row Tuesday to extinguish a massive fire in the southern Rostov region after an oil depot was attacked by Ukrainian drones as Ukrainian forces advanced into Russia’s Kursk region.
According to Russian state news agencies, the fire at the depot in the city of Proletarsk has covered an area of 10,000 square meters. 500 firefighters are involved in the operation and 41 of them have already been hospitalized with injuries, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing local authorities.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army on Sunday took responsibility for the attack on the oil depot that supplied the Russian army, describing it as a measure to “undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation”.
This was said by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj the daring Kursk invasion has allowed his army to take a significant number of prisoners who could be used in exchange for captured Ukrainians, expanding Kyiv’s objectives for the mission launched two weeks ago. He had previously said that Ukraine wanted Create a buffer zone This could prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border, especially with long-range artillery, missiles and glide bombs.
“Overall, this (Kursk) operation was our largest investment in the process of freeing Ukrainian men and women from Russian captivity,” Zelensky told diplomats on Monday, according to a statement posted on Telegram late in the day. “We have already captured the largest number of Russian prisoners in one operation.”
Zelensky said the Ukrainian army had captured 1,250 square kilometers (480 square miles) and 92 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk, the largest attack on Russia since World War II, exposed Russia’s vulnerability.
“Our defensive measures across the border and the inability of Russian President Vladimir Putin to defend his territory are telling,” Zelensky said. “Our proactive defense is the most effective antidote to Russian terror and creates significant difficulties for the aggressor.”
But while he celebrated successes in Kursk, his troops in the Donbass region face a grim situation: Russia is advancing on the city of Pokrovsk, forcing Ukrainian forces to retreat and Ukrainian civilians to flee their homes.
Russia’s relentless six-month march through the Ukrainian region of Donetsk after the capture of Avdiivka has cost Ukraine a lot in terms of troops and weapons. The Ukrainian defenders have no choice but to withdraw from the positions destroyed by Russian artillery, rockets and bombs.
Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s most important defensive positions and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would jeopardize Ukraine’s defense capabilities and supply routes and would bring Russia closer to its stated goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
Russia wants control over all parts of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, which together form the Donbass industrial region.
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